Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Turbot Au Gratin
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the potato base
Beat the boiled potatoes until they resemble flour.
Add the butter, salt, and pepper, and continue beating.
Mix in the milk or cream until nearly a soufflé consistency.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
Heat the mixture on the stove for 10 minutes.
Assemble and bake
Form a border of the potato mixture in a silver dish, leaving a center space.
Place the cold turbot flakes in the center.
Add melted butter if available.
Layer more turbot flakes.
Add a little cream until level with the potato border.
Sprinkle bread crumbs on top.
Dot with butter on top.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until heated through.
Use a salamander if the top is not browned.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,163 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Beaten to a flour-like texture, they form the body and structure of the border.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, and helps the topping brown in the oven.
- Milk or cream
- Adds moisture so the potato mixture becomes soft and spreadable.
- Parmesan cheese
- Adds savoury flavour and helps the top brown as it heats.
- Turbot
- Forms the main filling, providing the delicate flaked fish that is heated through.
The step that matters
Heat the potato mixture until heated through. Turbot is added cold, so the oven must bring the whole dish hot. Underbaking leaves the fish cool in the centre, while the potato can dry or toughen if overbaked.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, milk, parmesan cheese, turbot, bread):
- Tomatofits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatothe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, milk, parmesan cheese, turbot, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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